Google blocking a Windows Phone YouTube app, says Microsoft

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Microsoft has called foul over what it believes is Google's barrier to a decent YouTube application for Windows Phone. The current offering is essentially just a tarted-up version of the web service and pales in comparison to the feature-rich YouTube apps available on both Android and iOS.

Microsoft VP and deputy general counsel Dave Heiner recently said: "Microsoft has continued to engage with YouTube personnel over the past two years to remedy this problem for consumers.

"As you might expect, it appears that YouTube itself would like all customers - on Windows Phone as on any other device - to have a great YouTube experience. But just last month we learnt from YouTube that senior executives at Google told them not to enable a first-class YouTube experience on Windows Phones."

The story runs that while YouTube is game to make a good Windows Phone app, the Google overseers are not allowing the platform access to the full YouTube API. Quite why Microsoft thinks that Google wants to do this, Heiner does not go on to explain.

The part that puts some discredit to Microsoft's theory is that there are already fully-fledged YouTube apps in other areas of MS's ecosystem such as on Xbox. So while the ideas of conspiracy might make a better story to put public pressure on the production of a Windows Phone YouTube app, the reality might just be that Windows Phone doesn't really have a large enough customer base for Google and YouTube to prioritise. Most likely, the truth lies somewhere in between.